The Best Auntie Anne's Pretzels Are Bite-Sized Delights

Roaming the malls with friends in high school back in the '90s, there was no aroma quite as enticing as the one coming from the Auntie Anne's Pretzel stand (although Cinnabon gave it a major run for its money). The great thing about the eatery was that the pretzels really did taste as good as the intoxicating smell they produced. And, while mall culture and its staple stores are largely and rapidly disappearing, thank goodness that Auntie Anne's is still widely available. You can still walk up to the counter and select one of several alluring flavors. As to which one is the best, that is a highly subjective answer, but one of The Takeout's food rankers got the coveted job of determining which pretzel flavor rules them all. The surprising winner wasn't a hand-formed pretzel at all, but rather, the bite-sized, salted pretzel nuggets that come in convenient paper cups.

Our taste tester noted that Auntie Anne's pretzel nuggets are made with the same formula that is used to make the full-sized soft pretzels that the company is known for. The chewy snacks were sweet, soft, and buttery, although they could have used even a bit more butter. They did advise, though, that these nuggets are best fresh from the oven, so it's best if you can get your hands on a cup as soon as they're scooped in for service, lest the heat create condensation that makes the pretzels soggy. Perhaps the best part is that you get more pretzel per serving when you order the nuggets than if you were to order a regular salted pretzel. (If you like to eat yours with yellow mustard, we ranked those, too, from worst to best.)

The founder of Auntie Anne's, Anne Beiler, has built an empire that has made her company the world's largest soft pretzel franchise. The flavor and quality of her delicious pretzels, combined with the fact that people can get a satisfying snack at a reasonable price, has made Auntie Anne's a favorite eatery for millions of people. Her passion for baking began at an early age; she loved to bake pies and cakes for her Amish family's farm stand. But Beiler didn't set out to specifically build a baking empire as an adult. Her journey actually began with a string of tragedy and hardship.

After these events, she and her husband, Jonas, underwent counseling to begin their healing process, and Jonas decided that he wanted to pay it forward and open a counseling center of his own for the community. In order to help fund it, Anne began selling her homemade soft pretzels (avoid these 10 mistakes if you're making your own pretzels) at a farmer's market in 1988. Along with pretzels, she made pizza and offered ice cream as well. Ironically, Anne claimed her original pretzels were awful, but after some recipe tweaking, she'd created the pretzel she's now known for, and that makes up the flavor of those number one ranked pretzel nuggets. Growth happened fast; in fact, four years after opening her original stand, Auntie Anne's opened its 100th store. Anne sold the company in 2005 and is now a motivational speaker about franchising and her incredible life journey.